Liz Hatton: William and Kate pay tribute to young Yorkshire photographer who died aged 17

The 17-year-old, who died on Wednesday, pursued a photography bucket list after being diagnosed with an aggressive and rare form of cancer at the start of the year.

Liz, from Harrogate, hit the headlines when she was pictured being hugged by Kate at Windsor Castle in October after being invited to take pictures of William at an investiture.

William and Kate, who herself was treated for cancer this year, said in a personal message shared on their Kensington Palace social media accounts: “We are so sorry to hear that Liz Hatton has sadly passed away.

“It was an honour to have met such a brave and humble young woman.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with Liz’s parents Vicky and Aaron and her brother Mateo at this unimaginably difficult time.”

The message was signed “W & C”.

Liz’s mother Vicky Robayna praised her “incredible daughter”, saying “she flew high until the end” as she announced her death on X.

Her death at home in the early hours of Wednesday had left “a gaping Liz-shaped hole in our lives that I am not sure how we will ever fill”, she added.

Ms Robayna asked people to share one of Liz’s photos in tribute, under the hashtag #LizHatton, and also to support the family’s mission to fund research into Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumour, a rare and aggressive sarcoma.

Vicky has set up a fundraising page at justgiving.com/crowdfunding/vicky-robayna with a goal of raising £100,000, with donations currently being taken at Liz’s previous fundraising page, with a link to this on the new campaign.

As part of her bucket list, Liz went on to photograph comedian Michael McIntyre, circus performers, the Royal Ballet, models from the Storm Model Agency, London Air Ambulances from a helipad, hotel doormen, the red carpet at the MTV Europe Music Awards, and joined acclaimed British photographer Rankin to lead a fashion shoot.